The High Priestess represents our connection to our lunar nature and trusting our instincts, subconscious influences that are hidden beneath the surface.  She suggests a need to pay attention to subtleties.  But it also indicates a need to connect with our inner wisdom and deep spiritual knowledge.  This card is the 2nd Major Arcana card.  Twos symbolize formation, polarity, balance, and the coming together of opposites.  The High Priestess is the guardian of the veil, the guide through to the unseen world of intuition, inner wisdom and self-knowledge.  She represents a woman's individual nature - apart from family responsibilities and expectations.  The High Priestess is a card of intuition and listening to your inner voice. 

On the Olympus card the High Priestess is represented by Hera, Queen of Olympus in the Greek pantheon and long-suffering wife of Zeus.  At first I was puzzled by this choice.  I would have expected Hera to show up as The Empress.  As I considered it further as I realized that although Hera is the goddess of marriage but she is the goddess of women first.  Hera's experiences are probably those of many Greek matrons of the time - an unfaithful husband, children who did not measure up to your expectations and no way out.  She might have been a goddess but Greek culture made her as much of a prisoner as any human wife.  She shared those challenges with other married women and was honored by them.  There are tales that Hera rejuvenated herself annually at a magical bath.  She often persecuted Zeus' lovers, and is sometimes portrayed as a vengeful, unforgiving goddess.  However I think that women who shared her plight would have been loyal and felt Hera would understand their reality.

Hera doesn't explain herself.  She takes whatever steps she needs to preserve her domain.  Her husband may treat their marriage like a toga that he puts on an off as it suits him, but Hera is committed.  Hera is the queen of women's mysteries.  She understands women's lives, then and now.  Some of the external realities may have changed but the internal dynamics are still the same for many women.  Hera is not going to appeal to all women, but regardless she can still serve as the guardian to women's mysteries. 

The elephant High Priestess on the Animal Lords card reminds me of the story that elephants have long memories.  I have no idea if it's true that an elephant never forgets, but it works with this card.  She sits gracefully on her throne and guards the hidden wisdom of the world.  She seems quite gentle despite her massive size.

Despite the two very different views of the High Priestess, the thing that struck me about both these cards is the sense of being a guardian and protector.  Is that my role today?  If so, what am I guarding and protecting?  Towards the end of the evening something occurred to me.  As I sit at my mother-in-law's house and deal with her aging, I realize that I am continuing a tradition that has been followed by women for generations - caring for the family.  For many years my mother-in-law was the keeper of the family secrets.  Similar to Hera, she tolerated infidelity from her spouse and disappointments with her children.  And yet she endured.  She continued to do what she felt was the right thing, even if it seemed unreasonably hard.  Now she had difficultly dealing with certain things and my hubby and I have taken up the slack. 

So maybe today's lesson from the Tarot is that there is a portion of my life that is going to be focused on the hidden realities of life that we often know exist but that we don't always discuss.  Maybe part of the High Priestess' function is dealing with the waning days of life.  Maybe the hidden mysteries she guards are those of death and passing on to the next plane of existence.  I don't necessarily feel my mother-in-law is going to die any time in the immediate future, but there is an inevitability to her passing over.  One of my tasks at this point in my life might be to help make her remaining time as pleasant and stress-free as possible.  Of course this also may make my days a bit more stressful, but she deserves to be able to relax and not stress things right now.